The present invention relates to a control device for an auxiliary member of a vehicle which is capable of suspending the auxiliary member alone when there is an abrupt increase of the load on the driving system of the vehicle and of driving said auxiliary member to a fuller capacity when the engine of the vehicle is operating below its maximum capacity.
The recent general trend in vehicles is that even small sized automobiles are equipped with air conditioning device for improving the comfort of the drivers or passengers. Such air conditioners of compact cars are generally operated by compressors driven by the vehicle's engine, and this reduces the allowance in the engine capacity. When the allowance in the engine capacity is low, the vehicle cannot obtain desired driving performance sufficient to climb a hill or take over another car and the fuel mileage also drastically decreases.
Such inconveniences can be avoided by suspending driving of the compressor temporarily when the load on the vehicle's engine system exceeds a predetermined level. However, driving of the compressor may be frequently suspended at the time of gear changing during the normal driving or for starting the engine, causing an abrupt change in the load applied on the engine. This not only leads to malfunctioning of the engine or abnormal vibration but may also cause abnormal wear of members such as clutches that are interposed between the engine and an auxiliary member (the compressor).
The present invention has been developed in consideration of such defects as above, and it aims to provide a device which enables the auxiliary member of a vehicle to drive constantly during the normal running but suspend temporarily when radically accelerating the speed or climbing a hill, in order to improve the running performance of the vehicle as well as to drive the auxiliary member constantly as much as possible.